Coalition criticizes beer tent speech by Deutsche Börse CEO

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The coalition under Chancellor Olaf Scholz has reacted with indignation to a tirade by the German stock exchange chief in which he sharply criticized the government’s policies and claimed that the EU’s largest economy was in danger of becoming a “developing country.”

The speech by Deutsche Börse CEO Theodor Weimer, which went viral on social media, reflects growing frustration among business leaders with Scholz’s government, a fractious coalition of Social Democrats, Greens and Liberals struggling to stimulate the economy.

They accuse the government of not doing enough to solve Germany’s problems, including a growing skills shortage, excessive bureaucracy, high energy prices and a heavy tax burden. Germany was the weakest major economy last year and the government forecasts gross domestic product to grow by just 0.3 percent in 2024.

However, politicians from the governing parties were shocked by the populist tone of Weimar’s tirade. Some said it was reminiscent of the rhetoric of the far-right Alternative for Germany.

“The bizarre … speech has more to do with a beer tent than a DAX board,” Verena Hubertz, deputy chairwoman of the Social Democrats in the Bundestag, told the Financial Times.

“Concrete criticism is always welcome, but the indiscriminate insults against politicians … damages our political culture and the reputation of the German economy,” Sandra Detzer, economic policy spokeswoman for the Greens, told the FT.

A spokesman for Deutsche Börse described Weimer as a “man of clear words” who was “not known for sugarcoating things.” He said the CEO’s statements were “largely based on discussions with international investors” and that he had already made them public “on several occasions.”

Weimer, a former Goldman Sachs banker and CEO of HypoVereinsbank, delivered the 17-minute speech on April 17 at a meeting of the Bavarian Economic Council, a conservative business lobby in the southern German state.

However, the article only appeared on the social media platform X on Friday. It was subsequently shared by many conservative and right-wing economists who have long been very critical of the coalition’s policies.

Weimer said international investors consider the Berlin government to be “stupid” – a view he said is shared by many government leaders – and are increasingly avoiding Germany as a location for business.

“Our image has never been as bad as it is now,” he said.

Weimer, who will step down from Deutsche Börse at the end of the year, said international investment was only flowing into German companies because they were so undervalued. “We have become a junk shop,” he said.

He said he had had 18 meetings with Robert Habeck, the Greens’ economics minister, and “I can tell you: it’s a complete disaster.” The minister had a good start, listened to the economy and did some things right, he said, but “now the fundamentalists are coming through more and more strongly.”

Weimer also criticised the government for “destroying” the country’s vital auto industry, citing the planned phase-out of petrol and diesel vehicle production. Many critics of German car bosses have said the car companies themselves have themselves to blame for not investing enough in electric vehicles.

Weimer compared the situation in Germany with the attractiveness of the USA and praised the way the Biden administration is supporting clean technology providers with billions in subsidies as part of the Inflation Reduction Act.

Weimer said Germany must stop being a “public economy” and develop into a “private economy.” He added: “In the US they say it doesn’t matter which old man is president – we as entrepreneurs run the country and that’s why we don’t care.”

Some German economists pointed out on social media the contradiction between calling for a smaller state on the one hand and more state subsidies on the other.

A spokesman for Scholz declined to comment.

But officials in Habeck’s economics ministry dismissed Weimer’s outburst as “rather hackneyed polemics.” They said the government had made great progress in reducing bureaucracy, expanding renewable energy and simplifying immigration rules to address the shortage of skilled workers.

They also rejected the impression that the international economy is avoiding Germany, pointing to the significant investments made by Intel, TSMC, Eli Lilly and other major corporations over the past three years.

“Most of the business leaders I speak to have understood that the necessary modernization of our economy will not be achieved by complaining that ‘everything was better in the past’, but with energy, drive and innovation,” says Hubertz. “Dialogue with them seems to me to be much more productive.”